Finland’s gambling overhaul will bring licensed online casinos and sportsbooks into the market in July 2027, but Veikkaus says the harder job will be convincing Finnish players already using offshore sites to come back inside the regulated system.
Finland Has a Channelisation Problem
Veikkaus CEO Olli Sarekoski has welcomed Finland’s move away from an online gambling monopoly, arguing that the current setup is struggling to keep players within locally controlled gambling channels.
The state-owned operator will lose its exclusive position in online casino games and sports betting when Finland’s new licensing system launches on 1 July 2027. Veikkaus will retain exclusive rights over products including lotteries, scratch cards and certain land-based gambling.
For Sarekoski, the bigger concern is not simply the arrival of commercial rivals. It is the amount of Finnish gambling activity that has already moved elsewhere.
Veikkaus’ 2024 annual report estimated Finland’s total gambling market at roughly €1.51 billion in gross gaming revenue. Its own share stood at around 63%, down three percentage points from the previous year.
The digital numbers make the problem clearer. Finland’s online gambling market was estimated at approximately €1.13 billion in 2024, with more than €550 million spent with operators other than Veikkaus. In other words, roughly half of Finnish online gambling was already taking place outside the monopoly system.
That makes Finland’s reform less of an invitation to start competing and more of an attempt to bring competition that already exists into the legal tent.
Veikkaus Questions What the Monopoly Is Achieving
Speaking ahead of the new regime, Sarekoski argued that channelisation should be the central measure of whether Finland’s gambling rules are working.
He questioned the value of maintaining a monopoly when large numbers of players continue using operators outside the domestic system, particularly because those customers sit beyond Finland’s responsible gambling controls.
That criticism is fairly unusual coming from the company that benefited from the monopoly, but Veikkaus has plenty of reason to support the switch.
A licensed market gives it a chance to compete against offshore brands under a common Finnish rulebook rather than watching them attract customers without holding a local license.
For players, that distinction matters. From July 2027, legal operators will have to hold a Finnish gambling license and display information including their license number, regulator details, age restrictions and responsible gambling tools.
Operators Are Already Lining Up
Interest from international gambling companies has been strong well before launch.
Finland’s National Police Board said on 8 June that it had already received 50 license applications after the application process opened in March 2026. Each gambling license application carries a €29,000 processing fee, and authorities have set a target processing time of six months.
The government’s stated objective is to raise the proportion of gambling conducted through nationally regulated services while reducing gambling-related harm. That creates a familiar balancing act.
Rules that are too loose risk weakening player protections. Rules that are too restrictive can leave licensed operators offering a less attractive product than offshore sites, giving players little reason to switch.
Sarekoski has warned about precisely that problem, saying tight regulation is relatively easy to write but keeping channelisation high is far harder.
Veikkaus Will Not Enter the Fight Empty-Handed
New operators may be arriving with major casino brands, sportsbook technology and hefty marketing budgets, but Veikkaus starts with a formidable customer base.
The company had roughly 2.6 million registered customers at the end of 2024, according to its annual report, and had risen to around 2.7 million by the first half of 2026.
Its online casino and betting gross gaming revenue reached €151.6 million during the first half of 2026, up from €146.5 million a year earlier.
Veikkaus has also been preparing itself for life after the monopoly, including joining Finnish gambling industry association Rahapeliala ry and making organisational changes around areas such as data and finance.
New entrants therefore have two battles ahead. They need to take customers from an incumbent with decades of brand recognition, while Finland as a whole needs to tempt players away from offshore casinos they may already know and use.
Players Will Decide Whether the Reform Works
The licensing system may ultimately be judged less by how many operators receive approval and more by where Finnish players choose to deposit their money.
If licensed casinos can compete on game choice, bonuses, payments and general user experience while meeting Finland’s safer gambling requirements, offshore activity could shrink.
If the regulated product feels heavily restricted or uncompetitive, many players may simply keep using sites outside the Finnish system.
That is why the fight over channelisation matters beyond regulatory jargon. For the average online casino player, Finland’s reform will determine which sites are legally available, how they can advertise, what protection tools they must provide and whether the regulated market is attractive enough to keep players from looking elsewhere.
Veikkaus may be losing its online monopoly, but Finland’s real opponent in 2027 will not necessarily be the licensed operators entering the market. It will be the offshore market that has already spent years winning Finnish customers.
